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Dinner with Rukmini

Browse all of the recipes in Rukmini Iyer’s cookbooks by ingredient.

Lamb Keema Meatballs, Lemon Rice, Peas and Mint

A reinvention of a traditional lamb keema curry with moist and herby meatballs and a fluffy lemony rice base.

From the book

Introduction

My grandmother gave me her recipe for lamb keema and this is my version but made into meatballs. They steam gently on top of the lemon rice but crisp up right at the end when the lid is off.

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Ingredients

For the meatballs:
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
5cm ginger, peeled
10g fresh mint, leaves only
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
400g lamb mince
1 free-range egg
For the rice:
200g basmati rice, rinsed
400ml boiling chicken or lamb stock
1⁄2 lemon
200g chestnut mushrooms, halved
200g frozen peas
A couple of handfuls of flaked almonds
To serve:
10g fresh mint, leaves only
natural yogurt

Essential kit

You will need: a food processor.

Method

Preheat the oven to 210°C fan/230°C/gas 8.

Tip the onion, garlic, ginger, mint, spices and salt into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Tip in the lamb mince and egg and blitz again until fairly smooth. Alternatively, chop the onion, garlic, ginger and mint finely by hand and mix with the rest of the meatball ingredients.

Tip the rice and stock into a large shallow lidded casserole dish or roasting tin. squeeze in the lemon juice, then chop the skin into quarters and add to the rice Scatter over the halved mushrooms and frozen peas.

With damp hands form the mince mixture into walnut-size balls, and dot them over the vegetables and rice. You should have about 20. Cover very tightly with foil (this is really important or the rice won’t cook through) or the lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid or foil, scatter over the flaked almonds, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Scatter over the rest of the mint leaves and serve with yogurt alongside.

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From the book: The Roasting Tin Around The World

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